Finders and Keepers: Helping New Teachers Survive and Thrive in Our Schools

This important and much-needed book is based on a longitudinal study of fifty new teachers during their first years in the classroom. It highlights the cases of ten, whose stories vividly illustrate the joys and disappointments of new teachers in today?s schools. The book documents why they entered teaching, what they encountered in their schools, and how they decided whether to stay or move on to other schools or other lines of work. By tracking these teachers? eventual career decisions, Finders and Keepers reveals what really matters to new teachers as they set out to educate their students. The book uncovers the importance of the school site and the crucial role that principals and experienced teachers play in the effective hiring and induction of the next generation of teachers.

Staffing the nation?s schools presents both challenges and opportunities. For teacher educators, district administrators, educational policymakers, teachers, principals, and staff development professionals, Finders and Keepers provides valuable insights about how to better serve new teachers and the students they teach.

"At a time when expectations of teachers have never been higher or the challenges of teaching more daunting, Johnson and her project team show how the choice to stay or leave is forged in the early months of becoming a teacher?through hiring practices, pay and other resources, relationships with students, colleagues or administrators, and opportunities for learning and leadership. This book should compel attention from anyone concerned with the future of teaching."
?Judith Warren Little, Carol Liu Professor in Education Policy Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley

"Finders and Keepers is a must read for superintendents, district administrators, principals and anyone who cares about the retention and recruitment of high-quality teachers to public schools. The book is both informative and insightful, and above all, it inspires the reader to action."
?Arlene Ackerman, Superintendent of Schools, San Francisco Unified School District

"Knowledgeable, skilled and caring teachers represent our best hope for educating all our students well. Finders and Keepers, about real teachers in real schools, tells us how we can overcome impediments together, creating a more genuine profession for teachers and more learner-centered schools for all our students."
?Adam Urbanski, president, Rochester Teachers Association and director, Teacher Union Reform Network

"If you think that this generation of teachers is like the last one, think again. Not only is this book full of insights about the desires and needs of new teachers, but it also provides compelling stories about what the best schools do to keep them and grow their skills. It is a must-read for policymakers, superintendents, principals, and everybody else who cares about quality education."
?Kati Haycock, director, Education Trust, Washington, D.C.